See the news story this week about the teenager who fell into an open manhole while engrossed in texting? I wasn't surprised. I've been expecting news stories like that to pop up.
Really, I've noticed a glaring trend recently of kids and teens who are totally consumed with phones, texting, and video games in public. To the point of either not knowing what's going on around them, or seemingly having no interest in their environment because of the electronic-of-choice at the moment. So, while falling into a manhole or walking straight into traffic all because of being mesmerized by the "screen" are obvious dangers, two other recent observations show how bizarre and worrisome the trend is even when physical danger isn't necessarily the only factor.
Example #1:
Beginning several months ago, I noticed more and more instances of tweens, or teens, walking along down the sidewalk, side by side, each with their own phones and apparently each texting. Texting someone else, I assume, and not each other?! But, not saying a word to each other or looking at one another at all. So, I guess they could say they were hanging out together but...to do what? Oh, and no they never seem to look up when crossing streets, so there's that danger factor again, anyway.
Example #2:
Recently I was in Southern California, walking along the beachside cliffs of one of the most scenic and photographed places in the world. A place I would think and hope even kids and teens would appreciate and want to soak in. Nope, not everyone.
Suddenly, I hear the following conversation next to us, between a father and his 8-10 year old son:
Son: Have I walked enough now?
Dad: Walk at least a few more feet [implying he'd only walked a few feet already].
Son: [Seconds later] OK, now?
Dad: OK, you can sit down and play your DS a few minutes now.
At that, the boy ran to a park bench, the park bench along a cliff with a heck of a view of the beach and ocean, and pulled out that Nintendo DS like it was food he'd waited days to get to.
Really? The only way he could be cajoled into walking along this stunning stretch of the Pacific coast was to promise a few minutes of screen time for every so many feet he would begrudgingly walk? Come on, dad, leave it in the hotel room or the car! At least both of them had the sense for the boy not to try and keep walking near the cliffs while playing...o.k., there's that danger thing, again.
Unfortunately, I'm sure there will be more posts on this topic in the future. The whole trend seems to be intensifying all the time. Just like I've seen plenty of adults texting and driving recently. There'll be a humdinger post here the first time I see a parent texting with kids in the car! Note to parents: would you really want your teenager texting and driving?
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Ah, arbitrary beauty. "If person X likes A more then B, and I find B wonderful but don't care about A, person X has something wrong with them!"
ReplyDeleteNot everyone is impressed with a pretty vista.
As for the teens. This is a common age gap problem. People over a certain age grew up with single-focus mentality. Multitasking is much more common now and I am not sure that it is a bad thing. One can have a shared experience that includes people who are both present and virtual.